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By: Laura Mergen, Au.D., CCC-A The only sure way to know if you have a hearing loss is to have a diagnostic hearing evaluation. This battery of tests will determine how soft are the softest sounds you can hear at different pitches and how well you are able to recognize spoken words. However, there are some signs and symptoms that

We are all aware of the expected increase in the 65+ population as the baby-boomers age and increased life expectancy. While age and hearing loss frequently go hand-in-hand, hearing impairment is not considered a normal process of aging. Instead, hearing loss in the advanced years is likely the result of an accumulation of years of noise exposure, use of ototoxic

In the vast majority of cases, the short answer is no, hearing loss cannot increase your chances of falling or affect your balance in any way. There are a few occasions when hearing loss and dizziness may happen at the same time. In these cases, there is generally a very sudden drop in hearing in one ear only, and the

Q: What is the difference between sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, and mixed hearing loss? Are there different treatments for each type? A: Sensorineural hearing loss is hearing loss that stems from either the hair cells of the cochlea (inner ear), the nerve that runs from the cochlea to the brain, or a combination of both. Sensorineural loss is

One of the most common conditions affecting older adults is age-related hearing loss. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports approximately one in three people in the United States between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss. Age-related hearing loss often occurs slowly over time and may be difficult to notice at first. For this reason, it is

You finally did it! You got a hearing test. You have permanent hearing loss. Your family has been nagging you for a while that you don’t hear well. “Get a hearing aid,” they say. YOU feel you can hear ok. If people would just slow down and speak clearly you would hear fine. People talk to you but look away.

Fire safety with hearing loss is an important topic but one that few people think about. Most individuals who wear hearing aids feel pretty confident they’d hear their smoke alarm during the day when they have their hearing aids in but what about while they’re sleeping? Since hearing aids aren’t worn while sleeping, waking to a smoke alarm is a

Answer: In many cases, the cause of a sudden change in hearing is easily found and addressed, such as hearing loss caused by excessive wax or an ear infection. Even allergies or illness can affect your hearing. However, something more serious may be going on. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is an unexplained sudden or rapid decrease in hearing. SSNHL

The short answer to this question is rarely. Hearing aids do not cause ringing/buzzing to become louder with a few exceptions. The ringing/buzzing is tinnitus. The majority of people who have tinnitus and wear hearing aids experience some relief when using their hearing aids. The amplified sound can have a masking effect. Sounds that are not usually heard cause the

Unfortunately, while using percentages would make understanding hearing loss quite a bit easier, it is not at all an accurate way to describe your hearing loss for a couple of reasons. First, when we test your hearing, we test your ability to hear multiple tones, from low pitch to high pitch. Some people have hearing loss only in the high